Ho Chung Valley
Roots in Sai Kung
Today's Ho Chung Valley may not be quite the verdant valley it was when first settled in the 1600s but, as you can see from these recent photos, it still has plenty of greenery. Over time, the valley has changed from its rice farming status to a network of villages with small businesses set amid the green hills. One resident who bought a wide swathe of land here 30 years ago has spent time and energy enhancing the natural beauty of the valley with landscaping. He is also working on a "Self-Happiness Garden" that he plans to open to the public sometime in the future.
The lay of the land in this area of Sai Kung may be what prompted the rich and powerful Wong clan of San On (Ba'o On) County in today's Guangdong Province to buy it. Though they never lived in this area, the Wongs believed the land would provide good income for their clan and so started renting out the land to willing farmers. The Lai clan was the first to take up the offer in Ho Chung, sometime around 1550, followed by other clans including the Cheungs, Wans, Laus and Tses. These settlers paid annual rent to the Wongs for this right, in the form of 4,700 cash and 58 shek of grain (one shek, or shi/dan, weighs about 60 kg).
Ho Chung Village thus became the first of Sai Kung's three original villages, with Pak Kong and Sha Kok Mei following soon after. Pak Kong was settled about 20 years later, also by tenants offered land by the same Wong clan. The Lok clan who arrived first appear to have come from an area near the hometown of the Lais of Ho Chung. Others such as the Lei clan came after the Coastal Evacuation Decree was rescinded in 1669. This decree, which forced villagers to move 50 li inland (about 100 miles), was in place for seven years in an attempt to prevent coastal settlements from helping the remnants of the Ming Dynasty rulers who had fled to the south, as well as the pirates led by the infamous Koxinga.
The Wai clan, which had moved into the Sha Tin valley in the late 1400s, split up over a decision to build expensive walled villages in the Sha Tin area as protection against marauding bandits. One line of the clan left (unwilling to commit to paying for the walled village for generations to come) and settled in Sha Kok Mei in the 1570s.
All the original villagers were Cantonese-speaking or Punti, a designation from Cantonese (Boon Dei) meaning "local origin". It was only much later that the Hakka came to this area.
These farmers were not, however, the first to settle in the Sai Kung area. Pearl divers and soldiers sent by the Southern Han Kingdom to protect the interests of the Imperial Pearl Monopoly beat them by about 500 years. In the 10th Century, the Tai Po area was the second most important pearling centre, after Hainan Island, in China. The area controlled by the pearl monopoly was extensive, stretching from Lei Yu Mun up the east coast of today's Kowloon and New Territories, including Sai Kung, all the way to Sha Tau Kok. Pearls were highly valued and reserved for exclusive use in court robes and dining and serving vessels, and the garrison at Tai Po was of a significant size, reflecting its importance. Anyone found in the area without a pearl monopoly pass would have been severely punished. Only after the area was fished out in the late 14th Century did the land become available for settlement.
Much of the history of these three Sai Kung villages comes from clan genealogical records, county land tax records, and a rather nasty rental dispute between the Ho Chung and Pak Kong villages that ended up in the court. Despite a lot of "enmity" and "hatred" recorded in the Lok clan's records, the end result of the early 19th Century dispute was fortunate for all but the Wong landlords, as both villages were released from their status as perpetual tenants.
Early life in these three Sai Kung villages was governed by the growing season for rice. It appears that they lived a self-sufficient but subsistence lifestyle, supplemented by the selling of firewood hauled on a long walk along the footpath, called the Sai Kung Road, to Kowloon. Most of the fresh fish, alcohol and lime (used in plaster) sold in the Kowloon City market also came from Sai Kung.
Feng shui played an important role in the choice of the location of all three villages. At Ho Chung the main Yang feng shui line apparently crosses the main Yin line in front of the village, indicating weakness. To build strength, the flowing water was rendered slow or still, fishing was forbidden (hence the abundance of carp today), and feng shui trees were planted along the bank.
The site of the Che Kung Temple, far from the village itself, was chosen to block a negative feng shui line and protect the village. Originally constructed around 1555, this brick temple is a Grade II Historic Building, indicating the building's "special merit" and that an effort should be made to preserve it. A number of restorations have been carried out in the past century, the last being done in 2000. Che Kung (General Che) was a Song Dynasty general who suppressed a rebellion in southern China. He was well respected for his courageous and loyal protection of the last Song emperor, who fled to Hong Kong, and was elevated to Taoist deity status.
The Earth God (Tou Dei) sits in a shrine under a large feng shui tree near the Che Kung Temple. Traditionally a guardian of the village, one of this god's many powers is to protect people from floods.
Was it the choice of the right area or the protection afforded by good feng shui and beneficent gods that helped make these valleys a prime place to live? We're not sure but, to keep it that way, it might be wise to light a few more incense sticks and say a few kind words to the gods.
References:
The Historical Heritage of Ho Chung, Pak Kong and Sha Kok Mei, Sai Kung (EIA report for the EPD); P.H. Hase, S. Y. Consultancy Services Co. Ltd., June 2003
Sai Kung History, Customs and Relics (in Chinese only); Sai Kung District Council, 2003